Typically used as a review activity, "I'm Thinking of a Word" is inspired by a chapter from Scott Greenwood's book, Words Count. In his book, Scott Greenwood describes "Vocabulary Lite" activities as games and other student centered activities that are used to review and sustain interest in specialized vocabulary. For this activity, the teacher thinks of a word (typically one from a recent book, lesson, or unit) and gives clues related to the word or concept while students use a guiding worksheet to help them narrow down their possible word choices. Once the students identify the mystery word, they define or explain the meaning.
Janet suggests that "I'm Thinking of a Word" should be used to help students review specialized vocabulary words by using context clues to figure out words recently learned during instruction. She classifies this activity as "Vocabulary Lite" (as described in Scott Greenwood's Book). Janet also suggests taking this activity a step further by incorporating the words into the class word wall so that students will continue to use these specialized words in their writing.
According to Michella...
Use of context clues to determine word meanings is a long standing tradition in many classrooms throughout the country, and classroom activities that teach strategies using context can beneficial for vocabulary development (Greenwood, 2010). However, Greenwood (2010) warns that this strategy has been traditionally "misused" and argues that teaching context in and of itself is an ineffective and inefficient strategy for teaching new meanings. Greenwood argues that "It’s akin to telling the child at the decoding level to “sound it out”—they would if they could. It’s not particularly useful to tell kids to “use context clues to figure it out”; they need to be shown how, and teachers need to recognize the complexity of using the context" (p. 4). Context is helpful when the meaning of a word is known, but rarely provides enough cues for a reader who may not have sufficient knowledge of the word (Greenwood, 2004). In his book, Words Count:Effective Vocabulary Instruction in Action, Greenwood provides the following example...
“'Although Melissa was very comely, her roommate was grotesque.' The word although signals that contrast is involved, but the exact nature ofthe contrast is clear only to someone who knows the definition of both comely and grotesque. The problem becomes obvious when one substitutes other words into the sentence—tall, short; smart, stupid; loud, quiet. And the use of contrast is a relatively informative type of context clue!" (p. 5) Consider this example from Greenwood's book (2004)... "Take this passage, from Jostien Gaarder’s The Solitaire Mystery (1996):'I was a sailor on a Spanish brig on its way from Veracruz in Mexico to Cadiz in April. We were sailing with a large cargo of silver.' A skilled reader who has never seen or heard the word brig beforecan readily infer that a brig is a type of ship. Nevertheless, this single exposure to the word does not result in a very rich or lasting understanding of it" (p. 4) Greenwood stresses the importance of having a variety of strategies for teaching vocabulary via scaffolding that also integrate instructional strategies that ACTIVELY teach the use of context clues. While there are some aspects of "active teaching" in Janet's Activity "I'm thinking of a word" supporting vocabulary development through listening comprehension and perhaps even reading comprehension (depending on how the activity is conducted), it is important to keep in mind that while learning the meanings/ definitions of words is beneficial, there needs to me more. Vocabulary instruction needs to be incorporated into the curriculum in a variety of ways through the use of scaffolding.
References:
Greenwood, S.C., (2010). The power of words: Learning vocabulary in grades 4-9. New York, NY: R& L.
Greenwood, S.C., (2004). Words count: Effective vocabulary instruction in action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
I'm Thinking of a Word...
Typically used as a review activity, "I'm Thinking of a Word" is inspired by a chapter from Scott Greenwood's book, Words Count. In his book, Scott Greenwood describes "Vocabulary Lite" activities as games and other student centered activities that are used to review and sustain interest in specialized vocabulary. For this activity, the teacher thinks of a word (typically one from a recent book, lesson, or unit) and gives clues related to the word or concept while students use a guiding worksheet to help them narrow down their possible word choices. Once the students identify the mystery word, they define or explain the meaning.Vocabulary Lite apps (click here!)
According to Janet Allen...
Janet suggests that "I'm Thinking of a Word" should be used to help students review specialized vocabulary words by using context clues to figure out words recently learned during instruction. She classifies this activity as "Vocabulary Lite" (as described in Scott Greenwood's Book). Janet also suggests taking this activity a step further by incorporating the words into the class word wall so that students will continue to use these specialized words in their writing.According to Michella...
Use of context clues to determine word meanings is a long standing tradition in many classrooms throughout the country, and classroom activities that teach strategies using context can beneficial for vocabulary development (Greenwood, 2010). However, Greenwood (2010) warns that this strategy has been traditionally "misused" and argues that teaching context in and of itself is an ineffective and inefficient strategy for teaching new meanings. Greenwood argues that "It’s akin to telling the child at the decoding level to “sound it out”—they would if they could. It’s not particularly useful to tell kids to “use context clues to figure it out”; they need to be shown how, and teachers need to recognize the complexity of using the context" (p. 4). Context is helpful when the meaning of a word is known, but rarely provides enough cues for a reader who may not have sufficient knowledge of the word (Greenwood, 2004). In his book, Words Count:Effective Vocabulary Instruction in Action, Greenwood provides the following example...“'Although Melissa was very comely, her roommate was grotesque.' The word although signals that contrast is involved, but the exact nature ofthe contrast is clear only to someone who knows the definition of both comely and grotesque. The problem becomes obvious when one substitutes other words into the sentence—tall, short; smart, stupid; loud, quiet. And the use of contrast is a relatively informative type of context clue!" (p. 5)
Consider this example from Greenwood's book (2004)...
"Take this passage, from Jostien Gaarder’s The Solitaire Mystery (1996):'I was a sailor on a Spanish brig on its way from Veracruz in Mexico to Cadiz in April. We were sailing with a large cargo of silver.' A skilled reader who has never seen or heard the word brig beforecan readily infer that a brig is a type of ship. Nevertheless, this single exposure to the word does not result in a very rich or lasting understanding of it" (p. 4)
Greenwood stresses the importance of having a variety of strategies for teaching vocabulary via scaffolding that also integrate instructional strategies that ACTIVELY teach the use of context clues. While there are some aspects of "active teaching" in Janet's Activity "I'm thinking of a word" supporting vocabulary development through listening comprehension and perhaps even reading comprehension (depending on how the activity is conducted), it is important to keep in mind that while learning the meanings/ definitions of words is beneficial, there needs to me more. Vocabulary instruction needs to be incorporated into the curriculum in a variety of ways through the use of scaffolding.
References:
Greenwood, S.C., (2010). The power of words: Learning vocabulary in grades 4-9. New York, NY: R& L.
Greenwood, S.C., (2004). Words count: Effective vocabulary instruction in action. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
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